LISTEN: Biotech founder breaks down how she turns microorganisms into high-quality protein in just 24 hours
September 5, 2025 | Austin Barnes
On this episode of Startland News’ Plug and Play Topeka founder podcast series, we explore a ground-breaking food innovation with Katelijne “Kate” Bekers, co-founder and CEO of MicroHarvest.
This biotech startup is pioneering the world’s fastest protein production — turning microorganisms into high-quality protein in just 24 hours, using sustainable fermentation and agricultural side-streams, while slashing water, land use, and CO₂ emissions by more than 95 percent.
Bekers walks us through MicroHarvest’s rapid ascent — from lab experiments to commercial scale production — now delivering 10 tons per day and targeting a full-scale facility of 15,000 tons annually by 2026. We also delve into how its MPX single-cell protein and HILIX nucleotide extract offer more than just nutrition — they bring functionality for sectors ranging from aquafeed to pet and human nutrition.
Recorded live at the Plug and Play Animal Health & AgTech Expo in Topeka, this episode continues Startland News’ 12-part series on the founders transforming the future of animal health and agtech — and putting Topeka on the map as a national innovation hub.
Listen to a teaser below or click here for the full podcast episode.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
UMKC, Digital Sandbox KC partnership to maximize resources, create jobs
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s E-Scholars program has partnered with a business incubator program to provide resources and capital to student entrepreneurs. The program has partnered with Digital Sandbox KC to offer inroads to students to further develop their business projects with additional funding. “The UMKC Entrepreneurship Scholars program has a very specific goal –…
KC smart city ‘an invitation’ to innovators, entrepreneurs
The City of Kansas City, Mo., has signed an agreement with Sprint and Cisco to create the largest smart city in North America in the City of Fountains. Sprint will be building a network of connectivity worth up to $7 million dollars while Cisco will be providing smart city infrastructure worth upwards of $5 million. The…
Startup Little Hoots working with Today Show, Huffington Post
Kansas City-based Little Hoots has scored two high-profile partnerships that are scoring its memory-saving app thousands of additional downloads. The tech firm is working with the Today Show and the Huffington Post to provide snippets from its memory-keeping platform that captures youngsters’ memorable quotations to share with friends and family. “Whenever they publish one of these Little Hoots…